North Central College assistant dean and student featured in USA Today

Julie Carballo and Natalie Lebron-Marines ’24 on higher education’s focus on first-generation students

Following the Supreme Court’s June ruling, banning race-conscious admissions policies, universities nationwide are increasingly expected to turn to indicators like first-generation status and adversity scores to boost diversity on their campuses.

Although colleges have asked students about their first-generation status during the application process for years, some experts anticipate an increase in first-gen identifying applications.

Julie Carballo, assistant dean for first-generation, transfer and veteran initiatives, and Natalie Lebron-Marines ’24 were interviewed by USA Today, where they explained how at North Central, being first-generation identifying is on the application process, it goes far beyond that; it’s a point of pride and supportive community.

“When I entered North Central, you literally have an immediate network of people and you all share one thing in common: that you are first-gen. And that programs, like Cardinal First, have helped me find my best friends who I still talk to this day,” said Lebron-Marines. “It’s very reassuring to know that there are programs like this that exist for college students.”

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• USA Today
• AOL News
• MSN.com